Tag Archives: worldcup

Two rounds of world cup qualifying matches in South America are over. No big surprises yet. Paraguay tops the group with 23 points; Brazil is second with 17 points, followed by Argentina with 16 points. These countries have always been there at the world cup. It is all about the hot seat now.

Hopes of Soccer fans from rest of the South America have not faded as yet. They all are prepared to book their soccer packages once their teams qualify. Mathematically all the teams are in a chance to qualify for the world cup. But at the moment Uruguay is just on the verge of edging out Ecuador. Uruguay is the front runner with 13 points but closely followed by Ecuador with 12 points and Colombia with 11 points.

Chile is also in contention but Ecuador is not the bad team either. Losing to Venezuela didn’t hurt their reputation but a disastrous show against Brazil must have been demoralizing.

Where the Earth and Ocean meet! How beautifully the Zulu name Thekweni describes this gorgeous subtropical city of South Africa. Durban is the gateway to KwaZulu Natal and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho and South Africa’s world famous wild life parks.

Durban the city of beaches is the playground of South Africa, famous for beaches, one of the most loved tourist destinations and its carnival atmosphere is great for family holidays. Durban is also a deep sea harbour and international conferencing destination which makes this city both a bustling hive of activity for businessmen and tourist alike.
The city overlooks Golden Beach which is perhaps the single most culturally diverse spot in South Africa. The enthralling atmosphere rejuvenates the life to the core as you move along frolicking families, executives free for a change, teenagers in full swing and surfers running into the waves. Durban is just not all about the beach. South Africa’s only Surfing Museum is also situated here. It is a place for all. You can have a visit at the Bartle Arts Trust, the BAT Centre which is a place for local visual art and musical creativity and of course some good restaurants catering to the need of all and some coffee shops and pubs too. However, the most adventurous of you can enjoy thrilling trip to one of the most beautiful Nature Reserves of St. Lucia and Drakensberg and Game Reserves at Mkuze and HluhluweUmfolozi and the Wild Life in abundance. The DurbanSoccer Packages won’t miss the stadiums but it’s better if few other enchanting places are also covered.

Moses Mabhida Stadium

MOSES MABHIDA STADIUMMoses Mabhida Stadium is one of the most beautiful and major venues for the upcoming grand event, the FIFA Soccer World Cup. The newly built stadium has been equipped with state of the art facilities with all the latest safety and security requirements. The stadium has the seating capacity of 70,000 and will be hosting five group games including one second round game, one quarter final and one semifinal match during the Football World Cup.

Oh! Please, don’t take it literally but it would have been the experience for Maradona when his beloved country was stunned by Bolivia 6-1. Maradona would have never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would live on to watch this happening to him.

The awesome striker of 80’s who took his team to the Soccer World Cup Victory in 1986 ironically witnessed the most humiliating defeats in 60 Years at the hand of the Bolivians. It was just not that his team lost, he lost his 100% record too.

The only solace that the Argentine can afford to have is that they should have been at this altitude only for trekking rather than playing football. At such a high altitude of 3600 meters above sea level in the Bolivian Mountains, Diego Maradona was just present there to witness the great fall of his team from those great heights.

Bolivian Striker Joaquin Botero showed no mercy and scored a hat-trick as Marcelo Martins, Alex da Rosa and Didi Torrico also added to the misery of Argentina. Martins put Bolivia on course in just the 12th minute of the game. Argentina hit back in the 25th minute when Luis Gonzalez scored for the visitors but thereafter Argentina was on the field only to be crushed by the rampaging Bolivians who gave every penny back to their fans they had spent on soccer tickets.

Diego Maradona was the captain when he led his team to World Cup win over West Germany in 1986 and ironically he is the coach when his team suffered one of the most humiliating defeats. Breathless Maradona in his own words; “Every Bolivia goal was a stab in my heart.”

It doesn’t matter if it is not cricket. The Rivalry among these two high profile nations is just the same. As expected the Socceroos won the match against Uzbekistan 2-0. Australians have to wait just for a while before they secure their trip to South Africa. Mathematics some times work for you and some times spoils your party too. Bahrain has beaten Qatar 1-0 and they are too in the race, well…mathematically at least. So Australians will be waiting for another two months before they start packing for the trip. Even if Australia loses in Qatar in Doha on June 6, they have two games remaining against Bahrain and Japan to assure back to back appearances in the Soccer World Cup.

Meanwhile England have also all the plans of joining the Socceroos on the same bus to South Africa. And who talks about cricket here. Football pitch is going to decide who the Boss is. Peter Crouch and John Terry just kept England on the right track by beating Ukraine 2-1. But why do they always try so desperately to wake up only when hit hard. The match was a nail biting finish and Ukrainians had almost drawn the match. Perhaps this time Ukrainians were in a mood of presenting a gift for the English Team and thanks to their poor defending they managed to do it easily. It wasn’t a match you would buy soccer ticketsfor. England did not win the match but Ukraine has lost it. But who cares! At the end of the day, a win is a win and that’s what England has done five times out of five.

PORT EIZABETHThe Friendly City as it has been nicknamed is all set to justify its name as the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup arrives on the land. The Windy City stretches 16 kilometers along Algoa Bay which is also one of the major seaports of South Africa.

The Friendly City is approximately 770 kilometers from Cape Town and is situated in the Eastern Cape Province. Port Elizabeth offers a diverse selection of attractions as a family-fun holiday destination including scenic nature trails, historic heritage, magnificent wildlife, cultural experiences and countless water sport activities. It is a beautiful tourist destination and is famous for its Sunshine, Clean Sandy Beaches and Buzzing Night Life. Once you arrive here you will have plenty of options to choose for your entertainment. For the more adventurous people, they can go for Scuba-Diving and see shipwrecks, coral reefs and beautifully colored fishes in the warm waters and it has to be a must in yourPort Elizabeth 2010Soccer World Cup Packages. People having interests in the wild life can go for a Safari experience. There is an exclusive private Shamwari Game Reserve, the home to Africa’s Big Five, just about 73 kilometers from the main city. You can always visit parks to have a good time with your family and friends. St. Georges Park is one of the largest (73 hectares) and major tourist attractions. Settlers Park is another option that you would like to pay a visit at least once which includes 54 hectares of cultivated and natural gardens in the valley of the Baakens River, with many native plants and flowers attracting many colorful birds.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

NELSON MANDELA BAY STADIUMPort Elizabeth is looking forward to have a newly constructed stadium as the Soccer World Cup arrives in this beautiful port of South Africa. Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will be one of the most high-tech and modern venues for the upcoming grand event. The stadium has a seating capacity of 49, 500 and will be hosting seven matches including one of the semifinals. The stadium is located approximately 2 kilometers from the cost or just a 15 minutes drive from the main city.

Soccer World Cup, the most spectacular and greatest sporting extravaganza on the earth will come again toenthrall the world soccer fans, in 2010. Coming to the African Continent for the first time, the 2010 Soccer World Cup will take place in the picturesque country of South Africa.

A total of 200 teams have entered the race for one of the 31 places at the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The preliminary phase, which began in the Oceania Zone back in August 2007, is now in full swing, with only the Host Nation guaranteed a berth in world football’s showpiece event.

The first whistle for the Soccer World Cup in South Africa will be blown on 11 June 2010. The games will be played at Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Pretoria, Polokwane and Nelspruit. The footballing world and soccer fans are already buzzing with excitement and have started booking their soccer packages as the world cup approaches nearer.

Here we will be tracking the news, events, gossip and soccer mania of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.